A senior official from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has recently met with Houthi rebels and Hizbullah activists in Yemen to coordinate joint military operations against Saudi positions along the border. Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, quoted on Sunday Arab sources as saying the three-way meeting also aimed at developing a plan to escalate the military situation along the Saudi-Yemeni border.

It said the high-level meeting which took place last month was the most prominent evidence of "direct Iranian involvement" in the support of Houthi rebels financially, militarily and logistically. The report says the meeting took place after the Yemeni authorities have twice refused to accept Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki for talks on the crisis. The report added that in recent weeks, the Yemeni navy foiled several attempts by the Iranian to smuggle arms to the Houthis.